The Edge of Joy (2010)

• 67%
• 2010
• Documentary
• Dawn Sinclair Shapiro

The Edge of Joy follows an ensemble cast of Nigerian doctors, midwives and religious leaders as they battle the world's highest maternal mortality rate. The documentary is a character driven, cinematic expedition ranging from deep within Nigeria's semi-arid lands of the isolated Islamic north to the lush savannahs of the volatile Christian south. Inside a maternity ward, the film chronicles distressed labors and miraculous survival. Outside, a lack of blood supply, transportation and family planning are examined as causes of the cycle that kills more than 36,000 Nigerian women a year. Through unprecedented access to antenatal visits, labor and delivery, family planning counseling, rural health seminars and reproductive health training, this unique film captures the dramatic story of pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria.